Meg Smith Photography

I Will Tell Thee a Supreme Mystery1 [Full Article]
By Cornelia Powell

What’s a wedding without some sort of ceremony, and what’s a ceremony without re-enacting a ritual or two, and what’s a ritual without a bit of mystery? The rituals of wedding ceremonies—such as exchanging rings, repeating vows, or even dressing in special clothes—are intended as outer expressions of our inner transformation. Rituals act as guideposts on this rather mysterious transformational journey called being a bride, this womanly rite-of-passage.

The essence of rituals comes out of the ancient past from early cultures where one’s life was deeply connected to nature and the spirit world. They may come from the past, but rituals are alive and creative, full of energy as vibrant as what we’re willing to put into them. And the magic is not the ritual itself, but where it takes us. And that journey is within.

Courtesy of Donald Clay Johnson; Minneapolis, MN

“The origin of rituals overlaps our own origin to the beginning of the human story – to the core of what it is to be human,”2 scholars declare. When we participate in these ancient rituals today, we tap into the essence of our own origin. Even in our consumer-driven, frenetic technological world, rituals—when used consciously—not only fit in, but perhaps are necessary if we are to stay linked to our true inner nature.

Circa 1958. The Louisiana Collection, State Library of Louisiana; Baton Rouge, LA

Defined as “a set of prescribed behaviors,”3 rituals are designed to guide us through times that may otherwise be stressful—like a wedding ceremony—allowing us to express the ideas and feelings of our heart when our busy, over-thinking minds may be a bit befuddled. I tell brides to trust the process. Ritual can bring order out of chaos and help ease the anxieties of the day, offering such rewards as the space of intimacy and the open expression of love. As author Carol Wallace states, “Ritual time is different from ordinary time.”4 Once the ritual process begins, something larger than ourselves takes over; we relax into an inner rhythm that moves us into a meditative space. From this more settled place, we are guided through all the nuances of the rite-of-passage of growth and emergence —and a bit of mystery!

1. The Bhagavad Gita
2. The Etruscans, Fernbank Science Center exhibition, Atlanta, GA, January, 2004.
3. Carol McD. Wallace, All Dressed in White, (New York: Penguin Books, 2004), 3.
4. Wallace, 4.